Truecaller adds complaint data from the FCC to improve spam detection

Truecaller, the app that helps block unwanted calls, has beefed up its spam detection. The company is now integrating weekly complaint data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make blocking calls more accurate and efficient. According to the FCC, calls and texts from unwanted numbers are the number one consumer complaint, and it received 215,000 complaints last year alone.

In the US, Truecaller receives more than 1.5 million new spam reports per month, but with the new integration the company hopes to expand that greatly. Truecaller has doubled the number of spam detections in the US from 4 to 8 million each month. Full details about the new integration can be found below, and you can download the app from Google Play now.

With integration of FCC's database, company now detects more than 2 million spam calls per week in the U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO, November 17, 2015 – With the escalating number of spam and telemarketing calls in the US, Truecaller, a mobile app that gives users the power to know who is contacting them and the ability to block unwanted calls and messages, today announces a major upgrade in its US spam blocking and Caller ID services by integrating weekly complaint data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

According to the FCC, unwanted spam calls and texts are the number one consumer complaint in America. In 2014, the agency received 215,000 complaints about automated calls, with more than 208,000 complaints filed in 2013.

With 200 million users worldwide, Truecaller has more than 200 million spam numbers in its database. Truecaller has been expanding its footprint in the US and receives over 1.5 million new spam reports per month. Since its integration with the FCC's robocall and telemarketing complaint database, Truecaller has doubled the number of spam detections in the US from 4 million to 8 million every month.

"The FCC's public complaint data gives us yet another way to empower consumers, and the results have been dramatic," said Tom Hsieh, Vice President of Growth and Partnerships, who presented at the FCC workshop on robocalls this past September. "Now anyone can stay protected with the most up to date information on telemarketers and robocallers, and make more educated decisions on what calls to take and which ones to avoid altogether."

According to a Truecaller / Nielsen study in 2014, unwanted calls proved to be more than simple annoyances, with more than 17.6M Americans claiming to have lost money in a phone fraud or scam, losing an estimated $8.6B, with an average amount lost of $488.80 per victim. Incidences include IRS Agent Scam, Jamaican Lottery Scam, One Ring Phone Scam, Tech Support Scams, and countless others.

In an FCC release from October 2015, Alison Kutler, chief of the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, which manages consumer complaints, said, "Consumers want and deserve effective tools to empower them to choose the calls and texts they receive. This data will help improve do-not-disturb technologies so they can provide the best service for consumers. As we encourage providers to offer these services, and as the Commission recently made clear that there are no legal barriers to doing so, we continue to look for ways to help facilitate important consumer tools."

This latest effort represents the next step in Truecaller's broader vision to reimagine the mobile calling experience for more open, trusted and authentic communications.

Truecaller can be downloaded for free on popular platforms including Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Tizen and Nokia feature phones. Truedialer is available for free on Android andWindows Phone, and Truemessenger is available for free on Android.